A Pulse of Sound Chapter 1 Part 2
by JyrFalcon345
Summary: This is the second part of chapter 1.  Chapter 2 will be written as soon as I recieve some reviews...And I am sure I will recieve many of them
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Timestream Part 2

As the class flew back from the Timestream chamber, Shiva grimaced in pain. She could still feel the pain from the 'stitches' that the humans had sewn into her stomach. Her muscles ached from the weight of the disc which she had flown to the drop point. And worst of all she could smell the stench of burning fur and cloying fat, from the first building. She had screamed in terror and rage, seeing the other bats from Arcadia's makeshift colony battering themselves against the stone enclosure. Chinook's parents had died in the fiery conflagration, and even now she felt their loss fresh in her heart.

Shade's last words stuck in her mind. "The humans shall never be forgiven for their unconscionable behavior. In our eyes they are now worse than the Vampyrum, for we trusted them, and they exploited us to their own ends. They are cursed creatures." The rest of the day passed in a blur, Shiva's mind focused solely on her experiences in the chamber. After hunting in the forest that bordered the city she hung from a branch thinking. After the residual emotions caused by Shade's story had faded from her mind, she thought for a bit on what had been said.

From what she had understood, the humans represented in the story were only part of a group. Shiva didn't understand why their actions had to extend to all humans in general. She hated people who made blanket statements, and although she had to agree that what Shade and his friends had suffered was wrong, she felt that perhaps he was being a little bit judgmental. She looked up to see Aries flying up to meet her. He landed on her branch and said to her, "That was quite an experience in the chamber, no? Sago continues to amaze me. I still can't believe how realistic that was, I could smell the smoke, taste the water and bugs. It was like I was living a snapshot of Shade's life."

"Talk about an engaging history lesson, I can still see the marks where I had the stitches." She gestured toward a series of small red welts on her chest. Suddenly Aries face registered shock and concern. "What happened to your face?" He pointed to a long scratchmark along her cheek. "Perhaps some of the memories were rather more vivid than one might expect…" she chucked weakly. Aries reached out with one wing and brushed her face, wincing as he saw her grimace. "Clawmarks more like. Who did this?" "One of the classmates got angry…said I'd given him wrong notes.. got rough…things progressed." Ariel looked into her eyes intently. Finally he said, "If there's one thing you're not good at it's lying. What was his excuse this time?" The individual she was referring too was her father.

He had taken the 'It's Academic' phrase to heart a little too seriously. Shiva wasn't sure what had set him off, but it seemed that he was applying the pressure harder and harder each year. He'd taken to using his teeth to "persuade" her to succeed recently. Aries swore and growled angrily. "That abusive bastard. If he does that to you one more time, I swear…" He bared his large fangs angrily but stopped when he saw the tears coming to her eyes. He resisted the urge to touch her try to console her. She probably didn't like him…in that manner. He let her cry for a moment, hating himself for doing so. The tears fell like jewels from her eyes. If only she could talk to someone…tell them how she felt… Then Shiva suddenly thought of something. "Maybe the reason what happened to Shade happened because they couldn't communicate. You know what?" She turned to face him. "I want to open the lines of communication. Maybe we can fix this mess."

Aries looked deep into her eyes and realized that she was serious. He took a deep breath and said. "I'm with you on this one." "But think of how large a task we are undertaking. How can we even begin?" She looked at him, her eyes glittering. "I've heard that often when one needs help, salvation will walk right by and look them in the face…."

This is the end of the chapter but not the story. This is the most that I have ever written in one period. I'll keep it up if you review my entry.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Sago's Loss.

Sago, the history instructor hung in her roost, still wide awake even as slight shafts of sunlight filtered into her niche, 10 feet below the grate. She loved to be awake when the sun rose. She would watch the small spot of focused sunlight as it grew in intensity and became brighter and brighter. Mentally she would fly up, through the shaft, out into the sky and simply reflect upon her life. Today she traveled back to when she had been young and pretty, full of life. On this day of the year she had met the bat that she eventually fell in love with and became her mate a few months later. The entire colony had been thrown into an uproar. "Scandalous", the older females had tittered as they watched the two who had become almost inseparable in the months leading to their joining. Sago had laughed it off. She knew that the old ones were really just jealous, angered that they weren't hadn't had whatever quality had made her so desirable.

When the two had first met, she had been amazed at her luck Semri was the kind of bat who was 'gifted with good genes' as some might say. During the mating season he was constantly hounded by females. But he would have none of them, and would politely turn them away. Sago, who had always thought herself to be plain had never taken part in such things, thinking that there was no way in hell that any male, much less Semari would be interested in her. But it was he who sought her out. It went on from there, and the two remained a pair for years. They never had children, as Semari had decided to invest in Sago's dream of acting as history teacher for the colony's youth. But then a sudden illness snatched the very breath from his chest. One day he was alive and laughing, by the last, he was an empty shell, his mind gone. His last words were. "Teach them well." A single tear fell from her eye.

Suddenly she heard a rustle of wings. It was Shiva. This was the third day in a row that she had come to her roost. Sago guessed that something was not right in her home but felt compelled to hold her tongue. The child's eyes were bright and fierce, smoldering, as if a great bonfire burned inside her skull. The child began, "I know it's late but I need to talk to you." Sago sighed. Well a few hours of missed sleep wouldn't kill her. She shifted over on her perch, making room for Shiva to land. Shiva was silent for several seconds, composing what she would say. "I was thinking about yesterday's lesson in the Timestream chamber…" "Did you like it?" Sago interrupted. "Yes. It was a bit vivid perhaps but it got the message across. I doubt that any of your students will forget this one anytime soon." Shiva continued. "I couldn't help thinking about what Shade said. I felt his emotions throughout the presentation. I felt anger and betrayal. Loss. Fear. And I couldn't help but remember what he had said at the end. He cursed the humans. I think his judgment was skewed in this respect." "How?" Sago asked.

Shiva looked into her teacher's eyes. She searched. There was no anger, only genuine curiosity. She had tried talking to some of the other students, which turned out to be an exercise in futility. They all had been influenced by Shade's emotions and by the stories from years back in the nursery roost that most of them became openly hostile at her suggestions. She'd received more than a few cuffs for speaking out. But Sago…she seemed to be less rigid in her thinking than most. "I think that if Shade had been able to communicate with the humans maybe the entire incident could have been avoided. I remember that Shade had mentioned that the promise was a lie- maybe it wasn't. I think that we've allowed our anger to cloud our eyes and have delayed the Promise indefinitely." Shiva's voice faltered as she looked at Sago whose face was unreadable. Finally she spoke. "Who else have you told this?" Shiva felt her stomach drop. _Sago's angry with me._ "I-I've only told Aries. No one else." Sago suddenly saw the expression of fear on the child's face. Not just fear. It was akin to desperation. Sago breathed in deeply, feeling years of fatigue suddenly catch up to her. "I'm not young any more Shiva. Times have changed.

The colony has become volatile in some respects. The elders are fighting to keep control of the colony's social structure. The youth are fleeing in mating pairs to start other fledgling colonies elsewhere in the city. They are afraid of upstarts like yourself, afraid that your ideas will make the colony disintegrate even further…" She paused and looked at Shiva who's ears were plastered back flat against her head. She began "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" She looked up at Sago who was smiling tiredly. "However I do agree with you." Shiva's eyes filled with gratitude. Sago yawned and stretched. "I'll help you as often as I can; although I may not be able to do much physically, logistically I am without value. If it is possible to make contact, I will be glad to act as a liaison of sorts. But only _after_ I get some sleep. We can talk about this tomorrow."

Shiva dropped from her perch and spiraled down from Sago's roost. She dove down into the colony's main chamber, which was really the lobby and platform area for an ancient subway system that had been used by the humans long ago. The invention of the Maglev train system had changed all that. Now the old system had stripped and than abandoned for nature to retake. Shiva hovered in mid air, considering for a moment. She wasn't going to go back to her parent's roost, as her father's temper had developed a hair trigger as of late. His name was Damoclesm, and he had been part of the Draconian hit squad during one of the wars against the birds so many years ago. Their task was simple, eliminate all of the leaders of the owl army faster than they could be replaced. Once they'd gone after Boreal's advisors, they'd been set up and attacked. Now he was one of the few survivors. He was a large bat, with fearsome claws and teeth like daggers. She dimly remembered a time when he had been a loving caring individual.

Pain had changed that. Along with his memories… Frankly she didn't care. No parent should But she did know of one place she could turn. One person rather. She turned and flew down one of the old subway tunnels, following the dimly glowing emergency lights, trying to keep her eyes open as she went farther and farther in. Finally, at the last section of open track, next to steel blast doors which had been lowered when the station had been shut down she saw what she had been looking for. It was a supply closet , the door of which was partially ajar. She squeezed through the opening and reverted to her echo vision. Inside, behind a collection of mops and buckets, hung Aries. He sighed. "What took you?" Aries shifted over for her to land.

She hung upside down from the perch, shivering as the cold tunnel air stole the heat from her body. "You're cold." Aries remarked. Shiva looked at him, saying nothing. The pair hung from the key hook, conflicting emotions rolling through their minds. Shiva shivered violently once more, her teeth chattering. Aries gently wrapped his wing around her body, closing it tightly. "Thank you." Shiva murmered, relaxing in his embrace. She felt the beat of his heart ratchet up a couple of notches. _Still got it._ Shemused, unable to keep a smile from creeping across her face.

Shiva felt Aries's heart slow and realized, as his chin settled against her shoulder, that he was asleep. Soon her eyes closed and she fell asleep in his protective embrace. And before her mind completely locked down, she reflected on the fact that she felt safer sleeping with this bat, in a cold subway tunnel than when she was with her parents. "He's just a friend…Just…"


	3. Chapter 3

_For those of you who do not live in Washington DC, NPR (National Public Radio) is an actual radio station and these are actual programs that occur on this station. This is the chapter in which I begin to introduce the human characters in this little game. More will follow I guarantee it_

Chapter 2 Part 2- Outreach

Sound. It wasn't something that most people were interested in. They just walked around listening all day and not really thinking about what a wonderful gift ears really are. Serafina thought this as she looked out the window onto the people who passed below her apartment. Language also. Complex, eloquent.

She looked down at a tabby cat who was sitting before her, staring at her intently. "What? I've fed you already today." The cat meowed and then walked out of the room toward a small coffee table on which rested a micro stereo. _Right _ she mused. _I almost forgot, Morning Edition._ She got up out of her chair and walked over to the little radio, waving her hand through the holographic controls, as they shimmered to life, activated by her prescence. She switched to her one and only preset, NPR. National Public Radio. To her knowledge Gray was the only tom in her neighborhood who liked listening to the news in the morning. Not only that but he also listened to Marketplace, This American Life and a host of other shows dedicated to world events.

Most pet psychologists would say that the pet was merely attached to the sound of human voices. But then most pet psychologists had never seen a cat who would pay rapt attention to the reports on the New York Stock Exchange and yet fell asleep whenever she popped one of the holodisk variants of Kitty Einstein. The flying birds and bouncing balls and miles and miles of tasteless red yarn elicited only a yawn from him, or if he was in one of his more sullen moods one might see him get up, walk with tail in air, eyes locked with Serafina's as if to say, "You should have learned this by now." and sit on the holographic projector, his rear paw, 'accidentally' tagging the 'eject' button on the side of the unit.

Now she looked at him, as he sat on the couch, stretched out like some magnificent fur rug looking lazily at the world map posted on the opposite wall. By this time she was dressed, jeans, shirt, handbag and another case carrying her laptop and device. She knew that animals had a language. Most people scoffed at notions such as these, and Serafina scoffed right back at them. She had been an animal lover all of her life and she knew that many animals had to have a language. Otherwise how could one explain the ability that dogs had to communicate actions to each other simply by barking. Some tried to attribute it to some sort of doggie Morse code, but she knew that couldent be the case. All of her analyses had shown that beneath what humans registered, audibly, there was a deeper meta sonic level of sorts. All animals had it. But each species had it's own variant. And she'd quickly realized that there were dialects within species as well. Serafina snapped out of her reverie as she headed for the elevator to the Mag-lev platform. She already had a batch of sonic recordings from the animals in her neighborhood. Now all she had to do was drop it off at the lab and run it through the super computers to see what she got. Then her brain sparked. There was one group of animals that she had not collected recordings from…Bats. What animals were more sonically gifted than they were? They had to use sound to see! Serafina turned away from the lift and fondled a small gold bracelet on her wrist, from which small holographic emitters projected a keypad and screen. She'd have to reschedule but she knew that It would be worth it. If she could prove that animals were sentient…who knew what the possibilities could be?

Confrontation.

Shiva's wings pumped hard as she flew with Aries back down the tunnel. Both were attempting to head fotr the exits and start combing the forests before the rest of the colony awoke. "Faster, faster!" she crowed, speeding ahead of Aries who breathed heavily a couple of wing beats behind her. "Seriously," he puffed, "The fact that you closed the door while I was asleep makes you forfeit this race…even if you win." His eyes narrowed and he sped up his strokes. "And trust me you won't!" Already there were other bats streaming out of the exits into the night,. The colony spread out over the forest covering acres in a few seconds. Every week they fed on a different quadrant of forest to ensure that the bug populations had a chance to bounce back. Shiva laughed crazily as she weaved around dormant power lines and rusted transformer boxes, with Ariel still on her tail. The pair spiraled around one another one last time and then split, climbing into the night sky, speeding toward opposite sections of the forest.

Shiva hung from a tree after feeding simply enjoying the feeling of having a full stomach and watching the others flying about the forest. and watching the others flying about the forest.Evreything was at peace. Then a voice whispered right next to her ear. "Where have _you been?_" Shiva nearly fell off her perch as she whipped around to see Damocles hovering right below her ear. His coat was midnight black, and on his chest was a small patch of triangular bare skin showing his distinguished service in the military. Shiva's brain locked down. "I've-I've been away." She stammered, unable to keep her eyes away from her father's jaws. "Where?" he asked. "I haven't seen you for three nights? I began to get… worried." Her mind began flashing off warning bells. Something was afoot. "How have you been doing in your navigation class?" Shiva's stomach lurched. She'd pleaded with the teacher not to tell her father about her grades but that idiot must have ratted her out anyway. "Fine…why?" She felt beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead. "Lying doesent suit you Shiva, I thought we discussed this." His lips curled back to reveal long canine teeth. Unusual for a Silverwing male to have… "Perhaps I need to reiterate the lesson." "No please, don't…" she pleaded with him, tears shivering around her eyes.

"Don't touch her- " another voice growled angrily. It was younger, bolder. Her heart leapt, Hovering silently in front of the pair was Aries. "She was with me last night." Shiva's mind went blank as she processed what he just said. Her father didn't know what context that statement was in and if he was half as smart as she though he was…"_What" _ he growled thunderously. "Choose your next words carefully son. Very carefully…" "She stayed in my roost because she didn't want to stay with you." "And why would that be?" Aries voice quivered. "I saw what you did to her face yesterday. No child deserves such things." Damacles snickered. "In the army for such disobedience she would have been hung by her thumbs for a half hour. Or until she fainted. What I gave her was nothing more than a love tap by comparison." "This isn't some regiment and she isn't a soldier in your idiotic regiment. She's your daughter. And you have no right to do this to her." Her father's face split into a grin. "Oh you'll find that there is a lot that I can do…" "I know just how to settle this…." He turned to Aries again. "You are a bad influence on her young man. I forbid you two to see each other." "NO! You can't" Shiva cried breathlessly. "I can and I will. And If you try to stop me, I'll get the elders involved. And trust me you don't want that. And if that doesn't work…" "Come on Shiva." He pulled.

"No, you can't do this!" she cried out breathlessly. "Fine then!" Damacles snarled, and looking back at Aries defiantly, he gripped his daughter's front half with his claws, and began to flap, literally pulling her from the branch. His sharp claws scored deep grooves in her bac. Shiva screamed once and then slowly let go from the branch sobbing uncontrollably. Aries was helpless to stop them, he didn't know what he would do if he approached her. And so he was forced to watch Shiva's limp sobbing form being dragged through the air away from him. "_Shiva, NO!" _ the cry escaped his lips before he could clamp down on it. He howled in anguish and his cry of rage carried through the trees and seemed to echo long after he had left for his home.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: A plan of Action

The next day when Aries awoke he knew what he had to do. He flew down the tunnel, his eyes hard, anger blazing in his gut. He knew that unless he got some help it would be impossible to save Shiva. Sago was his answer. He raced toward her roost intentionally ignoring the fact that it was still light out. The longer he waited the more danger Shiva was in. He Flew up to the tunnel's ceiling and into a crawlspace struggling through the narrow opening until he came into a small chamber. Above, dimly he heard the sound of human vehicles whizzing by and of people walking directly above. He saw Sago's outline in a dark corner. She breathed evenly and for a moment he was afraid to wake her, afraid of what the teacher might say but he forced himself to gently whisper her name.

"Sago….Sago it's me, Aries. I need to talk to you." He saw her ears twitch and then swivel to face in his general direction. Eyes still closed and with the barest hint of annoyance in her voice she said, "Yes?" Aries swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "It's about Shiva. She's in danger." Sago's eyes shot open and she turned toward him. "I do not take kindly to pranks young man, and if that's all that you can think to come up with at Nocturna knows what hour in the morning than you may leave." She started to turn and Aries felt desperation rise within him. "Please." He whispered hoarsely. "I'm begging you to believe me, you're the only person I thought I could trust…" His voice trailed off pitifully.

Sago looked into Aries's eyes and saw genuine fear. He wasn't lying. Couldn't be. "What's happened? Tell me everything." For the next hour Aries talked leaving nothing out. Sago's expressions flitted from tenderness when he mentioned how he had allowed Shiva to stay in his roost for three nights as a refuge from her father to anger when he told Sago about Shiva's injuries. By the time he was finished Sago's eyes blazed with a furious light. Aries felt drained. From his perch he looked at her weakly. Suddenly he felt the weight of the past day's events crash down on his shoulders. Tears formed, and he tried to hold them back. His voice shook with emotion as he said, "I don't want her getting hurt again." His voice broke and Sago instinctively put her wing around him.

After a minute he said, "I'm sorry… I…" he fell silent. "Sorry for what?" Sago said, "There's nothing wrong with crying. It shows that you care about her." She looked at him, anger clouding her eyes. "We will find her, I promise you that. Now…we need a plan…" They sat for a moment their minds churning. Finally Sago said, "I'll speak with the elders and see If we can't get the law on our side." Aries said, "I know the system better than anyone, I'll start searching. If I find anything I'll meet you in the council chamber. "

Aries was the first to go, blasting back through the entrance way to Sago's roost and rocketing toward one of the tunnels that led to some of the other stations. As Sago watched him go, hovering in mid air she thought, _He really cares for her. If they survive this, I see a bright future for them both…_


	5. Chapter 5

_I wish first to apologise. Yes that's right. I have been on a hiatus as I have been absorbing data from the Starfox section of this site. Some really great stuff there…anyhow, Oemi I hope you're the first to read it. Thank you personally for the support._

Down in the deep recesses of the subway tunnel, Shiva hung from a perch in her father's roost shivering with fear and anger. The roost had once been the power control office for the subway system. Years ago humans had sat at the various stations and watched over the facility's lifeblood-electricity. But the advent of automation had changed that. Shiva looked at her father, hating him. He saw her look of anger and smiled a smile that sent a shiver of fear down her spine. It wasn't only that he had tried to reassert his dominance over her, but that he had done it in front of the only person she really liked. The only male…

Aries. There was something about him… some quality that she saw in him… she liked it. _He's the only person who ever really gave a damn about me…my welfare…state of mind. It's almost as if… _Her thoughts trailed off as she saw her mother enter the roost. Her mother. Shiva could barely prevent her teeth from baring themselves at the sight of her. The fact that Diatra was a witness to what her father had done to her…and that she did nothing sickened her. Diatra was a beautiful bat, with long wings which shimmered from the reflections of her glossy coat. She quietly flew over to Damocles' perch and roosted there, sighing as he enfolded her in his wings. Shiva growled, "You two make me sick." Damocles chuckled. "Oh? And just what are you going to do about it?" He breathed in deeply, relishing the smell of his wide's scent. She giggled and batted playfully at his questing nose with her wing. He fixed her with a gaze, and for a moment Shiva thought she saw something…something that flickered briefly behind the hate and malice. Longing… As if what she saw before her was merely a veneer…a shell. But then he blinked and it vanished.

Pointless to think differently. He haden't changed. Never had and never would. Damocles spoke again. "I hope that Aries comes for you …I'd just love to teach him a lesson. He won't last long…five minutes maybe. But then…there are ways to draw out the process out." Shiva felt anger rise within her and before she could stop herself she swore. "If you hurt him…I swear I'll kill you…" There was silence as he registered this. Then his eyes gleamed. And Shiva saw it again…that same quiver at the back of his eye. Fear. Not fear for his own life, but fear for her own life. And then it changed again and he was back to normal. As normal as an abusive parent could get. He settled back on his perch breathing heavily. She wondered, how could he be exerted from just that statement? "I'll make you rue that statement… Later… "He dropped from his roost and Shiva noticed that his flight was almost imperceptibly lopsided. As if he was _fighting _something. She knew she was fighting the urge to turn him into a flying eunuch. She settled back on her perch. _Aries…where are you?_ She fixed her face into her consciousness and tried to take solace in the fact that he was coming for her. She knew it…felt it…prayed for it.

The Folly of the Council

Sago flew down a short stretch of tunnel her brain churning. _I've got to save her…she can't survive like this much longer._ She was heading for the Council chamber, the meeting place for the colony's 10 elders. Sago knew that they would be willing to help her. Children were precious in the colony and actions like those of Damocles' could not be tolerated. She entered the meeting chamber and roosted in it's high ceiling. The elders swiveled to meet her and the leader gave her a nod. Sago cleared her throat and then tried to gather her thoughts. "Honored members of the council I come to you with a matter of grave concern. It deals with one of our students. Mine actually…" The elders were all listening now, good she had their attention. "Shiva has been a star pupil in my class, and as I watched her grow through the last few years I began to suspect that something was wrong. It started with a look in her eyes; sometimes she seemed…distant as if her mind was focused on something else.

Then I began to see the marks…" Agatha piped up, her old voice quavering, "Marks you say?" "On her face and body, yes. Small scratches and scars. At first I thought that they were just from scuffles with the other students. I…foolishly said nothing, wanting to belive it could be something… anything else than what my mind assumed. She began to spend more time with me…after school, during hunting…It was as if she had latched on to me in a way." Sago felt a lump developing in her throat and she swallowed hard. "One of her friends, Aries told me that she told him she was being abused verbally and physically by her father Damocles. Her mother is only impassive at best. Last night things came to a head and he assaulted her in front of him…" "Where is he now?" "He's out now, searching for her. Damocles has kidnapped her and has hidden her somewhere in the colony's roost. I don't know what he's dong, we've got to scramble a search party now and find her. Please."

Sago looked up and saw to her horror that the leaders were all looking interestedly at their feet or at spots on the wall. "_Well_ aren't you going to do something?!" Sago cried. One of the elders spoke. "Damocles is a very powerful member of the military…we cannot go on just hearsay we need evidence…proof that Shiva is actually in danger." Sago's eyes blazed with fury, "_Are you saying that she is lying?!"_ "No," said Agatha, somewhat flustered at Sago's rage, "How do you know that this just isn't some example of bullying or peer pressure. If you question your classmates or Shiva's friends-" "_Aries was her only true friend. He's out there searching for her alone…" _ Her words trailed off as she realized what was going on. "You're protecting him, aren't you?' "Now Sago, let's not make premature-" "You pompous old farts are so afraid of his clout, of him possibly trying to depose you, that you're willing to let him wail on his daughter whenever he wants?" A dry cough bounced around the room. "_Positions and power are worth nothing when lives are at stake." _ She growled, "If you don't help me and she dies, or Aires gets hurt…their blood will be on your wings. And I'll make sure that you're all held responsible for your damnable indecision here tonight." And with that Sago dropped from her roost and flew out of the room. Out of the chamber. Away from the liars who dared call themselves the council of Elders.

_So What did you think? Was it suspenseful? Give me details people? I love em and the more the better. Oemi I want an update on your story as well._


	6. Chapter 6

"_There are certain instances in which a child will harm a parent, given the right impetus. Abuse can hasten this process. And the damage done to the child and parent when these malicious energies are released is often fatal to both parties…" An excerpt from Shiva's autobiography Pg 112 Sonix File ID 234.12_

Shiva's eyes snapped open and she looked around before remembering where she was. Home sweet home. She sighed. She had been dreaming that she was back in Aries's roost again. _I must be really getting hung up on this guy. _She smiled. This fell however, and turned into a half formed snarl as she saw her father leering at her. "If you're expecting that runty friend of yours to come save you…" He chuckled darkly. "I swear that cry he gave when I carried you off was priceless. ' _Shiva noooo!' _ he cried mocking Aries in a high whiney voice. "Stop…Stop it…" Shiva cried. He only laughed harder.

Something inside Shiva snapped. She didn't know what caused it. Maybe it was the look on his face when he had mocked Aires, maybe it was the way her mother simpered in his presence, maybe it was the shit she had been put through all of those years… All she knew was that she was pissed.

Females are not usually known for their fighting skills in bat colonies. Usually. Shiva's mother however had belonged to a long line of warriors who had participated in the various rebellions against the Owls. Damocles had forgotten that. Unfortunatly for him. Shiva launched herself at him wings flared, teeth flashing, a reddish glint in her eyes. He tried to raise his wings to protect himself but she brushed aside his defenses easily, her head darting in to slash at his unprotected flank. Her body sang with adrenaline, and his resistance only served to heighten her battle lust. She lashed out with her claws art his face, carving deep grooves in his cheek. He howled anew in pain and she snarled, " 'Just a love tap eh? This is for all those love taps you gave me, you ugly son of a- _aaaah"_ Shiva reeled back and hissed in pain as his fangs lashed out and he scored a long perpendicular gash down her face and body. Thankfully he had been severely weakened but his sharp claws still did some serious damage to her. Another surge of adrenaline roared through her bloodstream and her jaws darted toward his throat for the killing strike.

She connected and her jaws instinctively clamped down. He struggled violently now, but she couldn't stop, her hatred drove her to clamp down, harder, harder. Finally he stopped and she managed to unlock her jaws. Blood spattered her muzzle and claws and oozed slowly from the cut. Her breath came in gasps as her battle lust left her. Damocles was only passably recognizable as a bat, her canines and sheer rage had seen to that. She was in a daze and turned to leave, but as she did so she looked back at Damocles one last time. He was glowing! The outline of a completely different bat lay in the same exact position as her father, it's wings were larger, it's snout and teeth more bestial than even her father's highly honed physique. And then she heard a voice in her mind. It was a male's voice, deep, sonorous, and dripping with malice. It was not Damocles. Even in his most towering rage he had never seemed this… evil. _"You have the spirit of Zotz in you child…even my best warriors couldn't manage to do what you did. Had you been a Vampyrum you would be royalty… crowned a warrior." _The voice grew darker "_…but time is of the essence. You will pay for your insolence…and when the time of alignment comes, you will be the first I eliminate…" _ Shiva bucked mentally and the voice was thrown out of her mind. She flew from the chamber, her entire body aching. The cut burned now, and her vision swam with tears. She heard a voice in the distance, dimly registering. "Shiva…Shiva..where are you?" Aries flapped into view, and he cried out in joy at seeing her. "By Nocturna you're alive-what happened to you?" Shiva flapped toward him and breathed, "Not now…Sago…must see her…now." The pair limped back toward the main chamber, Shiva's wound dripping blood onto the rough concrete floor of the tunnel. Shiva's mind momentarily reflected that even as she had applied the killing bite to Damocles's neck, she had seen his eyes an odd unearthly quality, as if a being if immense age and power resided inside the confines of his cranium. _It's not over…some part of him will survive…_

Back in Damocles's roost the bat lay on the floor in a pool of blood unable to move. Paralysis, he supposed. A voice inside the back of his head snarled, _My daughter won…you can't control me anymore. _ Goth used his spirit form's power to crush her father's mind back down into the confines of his mind. The pain sang, and he took a fierce joy in the keen edge which sang across his body. Diatra flew into the roost and hung above him. "Goth…you have failed. Zotz will not be happy with you for your folly." Goth coughed. A dark presence flared in the room, taking the ghostly form of Shiva's body. _I am very displeased with you two. You have allowed your hatred of the Silverwings to spill into your treatment of the pair's child. My plan may have been set back an innumerable measurement of time because of this… _ "I attempted to suppress the birth my lord, kill the spirit link before gestation began, but the mother and father's spirits fought me. They 'loved' their heathen child too much to allow her to die." 'Shiva's' eyes narrowed. Zotz spoke. _The events of the past do not pertain to those of the present." _He turned to Goth's spirit form. _I should eliminate you right now…as this failure is indicative of your headstrong nature. Never underestimate your opponent no matter the age… _He fell silent staring at the two. 'Shiva's' wing reached up and covered her chin as he began to think. Goth waited with baited breath. Would his master give him a second chance? Or would he be fated to join Voxaco in Zotz's 'stomach'? Zotz looked up at Goth, his face unreadable.

_I am merciful however…I shall heal you… and you can continue your mission. You were one of my most trusted servants…do not fail me again…" _ The apparition dropped to the floor and bent over the dead form of Damocle's body. Zotz re fastened his teeth around the corpses throat. Bands of bright energy spiraled through it's jaws and shuddered down the length of his body, wounds healed, blood reversed itself and in a matter of minutes Goth's body was healed. He shifted himself off the floor, and nearly doubled over as pain rippled anew through his body. "My lord…" he gasped, "Something's not right… the pain…" Zotz smiled grimly. _The pain will remain there to remind you of your duties…and as a harbinger of what you will suffer if you fail. Complete this task, and I, shall rise anew and rule the world, and the Vampyrum spectrae along with me. Fail…and what you feel now will be only a fraction f what you will feel in my realm…" _Goth rose into the air, feeling the pain course through his body.

Lysandra thought for a moment. "Let's lie low for a few days…give them a head start. It's not like they can get very far." Goth roosted beside Lysandra. "What is the sense in that?" She replied, " Zotz will be pulling the strings below ground. They will be pulled toward the emergence site." Goth murmered, "Now that only leaves the question of how to get 20 bats to willingly follow us into the forest? " The pair thought for a moment.. Lysandra suddenly gasped.

"How about causing a little disturbance hmm? I'll plant a sonic bomb in the echo chamber, you eliminate a few of the neighbors… we'll have half the colony following our scent within a night." Goth wrapped his wings around Lysandra and said, "So…who do we 'off' first?" She settled back in his embrace and chuckled, "Decisions..decisions."


	7. Chapter 7

_Note: I apologize to those of you readers who may have noticed that I have stopped putting those insightful little titles at the beginnings of each update. I stopped separating them by chapter a long time ago as I have found that one can only come up with so many witty titles before their brain blows a crankshaft. I apologize for this. Also I would like to give Kudos to another writer who hails from the long neglected Silverwing Section of this site. Oemi (Pronounced OH-MAY) is an extraordinarily talented fellow writer who has written a compelling novella (currently in progress) which is a banquet for the mind and the literary pallet. Her story makes me strive to match her level of writing prowess. In short Oemi, you have writing abilities, that few our age seem to exhibit. I can only hope that you continue to exercise this miraculous gift. Saying this, please note that I am writing another story AT the same time as I am writing this one. So I am balancing two DIFFERENT story lines as I am writing this… Yeah. _

Shiva, Aries and Sago hung in her roost. All were silent. Sago looked at Shiva with a mixture of fear and relief. "Are you sure he's dead?" Shiva nodded. After a moment Sago said, "We've got to go. If anyone heard the commotion, considering the council's mentality they'll probably have you tired for murder…despite the evidence." Shiva said, "Let's go now, it'll give us a head start." Sago let go of the perch and dropped through the entranceway. Aries dropped next hovering just below Shiva, worry creasing his face. She unfurled her wings and dropped, her teeth gritting as the cut shifted. "How bad does it hurt?" She blinked at him. "You seriously don't want me to answer that." She swore angrily and the trio headed toward the exits. It was feeding time, and the colony was deserted, although a few bats did pass, staring intently at Shiva's wound. "What happened to her?" one asked, and Aries snapped, "Someone seriously pissed her off. Do you want to fall in that category?" There was no response, due to the fact that the bat had decided that the best course of action would be to leave the injured one alone. They left the colony without incident, but Aires noticed that Shiva's breathing had become ragged, labored. They got a few hundred wingbeats away from the colony, when they had to rest.. Shiva said, "Where can we go?" Sago's face was bleak. "Truly? With your injury, any movement we make will be slow. If you continue to ooze blood as you have been doing, any bat or bird or beast within a 1000 wingbeats will be hot on our trail." Suddenly a voice rang out.

"_My name is Serafina. I wish to provide you with assistance Shiva."_ Sago's neck cracked as her head whipped around. "_I am a human, who has been watching your colony for a few weeks. I have dedicated my life to proving the sentience of animals. I…heard the exchange between you and your father and I wanted to help you in any way I could. I ask of you to trust me. That is all. I live in the city, about a mile north of here. Look for the apartment building with a bright light on top. The 3__rd__ window on the third level is my apartment. This window will be open. I hope that you get this message…" _ The message stopped. And then began to repeat. Sago exclaimed, "It's a recording of some sort…" She looked at the base of the tree and illuminated a thimble sized speaker imbedded into it's bark. She turned toward the skyline. Then she turned back toward Shiva who smiled weakly. "See Aries? Told you help would come to us…although I'd hoped for better circumstances."

Aries looked at the skyline. "We're breaking every single rule in the book by doing this…" He looked at Shiva, who's head drooped from weariness. "But go we must…" The trio took off and headed for the city at a slow pace, Shiva's wound slowing the entire group down. Aries offered desperate encouragement as they flew, goading Shiva onward, wingbeat by wingbeat. The building rose up through the darkness, glowing with light. On the third row of windows, one was dark. Sago could make out the outline of a woman in the window, looking intently at the skyline. The trio approached, and the human turned a light on to a bare minimum, then turned toward an odd machine, which glowed brightly and pressed a button. The human spoke in low sonorous tones into a stubby implement. The glowing machine whirred and then: "You are the three, I assume?"

The voice was slightly fuzzy, with clicks and hisses, but nonetheless understandable. Aries was the first to speak. "Yes…You are Serafina?" Again, a slight pause, and then a low sound came out an emitter in the glowing machine. She smiled and nodded. Then as her eyes swept over the group she came to rest on Shiva. "My God…what happened to her?" Aries said, "I'll explain later, can you help her?" "Yes, but you'll need to come inside, I'll be better able to help with the proper tools." She saw the hesitation in their eyes. "She's in a lot of pain…I have things which can heal her. I ask you only to trust me." Serafina opened the screen door to her apartment and stepped inside, flicking the lights to their lowest setting. She cleared a space on a large table, then walked toward a closet, opening it and pulling out three suitcases each with symbols denoting her Green Cross affiliation. The Green Cross was a veterinarian elite core which had been issued the prerogative of protecting the species that still existed on the planet and on re-seeding any extinct members. Like a veterinarian variant of the Mayo Clinic. She took a sterilizer from the case and swept the blue beam across the table's surface, before pulling out a large antiseptic sheet and laying it down. Then she pulled four small discs from a plastic bag and depressed the buttons on each. She then placed them on the sheet, each at the table's four corners. Sago spoke, "What did you just do?" Serafina called to the laptop, "Engage sterilization field." and a shimmering green field enveloped the table's surface.

"These four discs are sterilization field emitters. Useful for operations when sterility is a necessity… " She walked over to a sink and washed her hands vigorously, rolling up her sleeves, as she did so, making sure to spread the surgical grade soap suds up her forearms. "Sterilization?" Sago said quizzically. Serafina continued, drying her hands and pulling on white gloves. "The removal of dirt, anything that can infect the patient. It's vital…" Sago nodded, struggling to understand. Serafina pulled out a few containers and cloths and lay them out neatly on the table. "I'm ready when you are Shiva." Shiva limped forward painfully, hovering over the edge of the table, uncertainty evident in her eyes. Aries spoke to her. "I'll be right here with you." He crawled under the sterilizer field. Shiva had to smile at his boldness. _My God, he's more scared than I am._ And yet she knew that he'd do it 1000 times over if he needed to. If _she_ needed him to rather….

_I will post more…Had to cut it short because my mother wanted to use the computer._


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks very much, Oemi. Your story is progressing very well. I must say that your characters are in much more dire straights than mine. They've got owls coming after them, I've only got a supernatural being and two maniacal possessed wraiths to contend with. This is really a lot of fun. I based a lot of the technology that Serafina uses on stuff from Star Trek (It helps to have a copy of the Next Generation Technical Manual next to me when I write.) The next scene starts where the last part left off. Shiva is going to have her wound stabilized by Serafina, and I've pretty much assumed that she'll need stitches. _

Shiva lay down on the antiseptic mat, spreading her wings fully. Serafina picked up a scanner and swept it's red beam over her body, looking at the results. "Minor arterial bleeding. It was a good thing that your fathers teeth and claws are sharp or this would be a jagged cut, and this would be very dangerous indeed." She pressed some more buttons and spoke aloud. "The incision is 00.3 inches deep and extends 7 inches along Shiva's abdomen, just grazing her cheek." She picked up a cotton swab and opened a bottle. She pressed the mouth of the bottle against the cotton swab. "I am now applying Hydrogen peroxide solution to the incision to remove any possible microbial threats This…may sting slightly."

Serafina gently lowered the swab toward Shiva's side and squeezed, releasing a clear liquid that fizzed on contact. Shiva's jaw clenched, and Aries looked at the human questioningly. "This is standard procedure. If she gets an infection and the wound becomes septic…it would be very difficult to cure without surgery." She repeated the procedure until the wound showed no more of the bubbly discharge when the Hydrogen Peroxide came in contact with the wound. She then scanned her and said, "Wound sterilized, applying liquid stitches." Serafina replaced the bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and pulled a small bottle of a clear gel from the table. "These are what human doctors call, 'liquid stitches'; these can be used to close a wound without causing stress to the patient." She pulled the stopper from the bottle, and poured a thin stream of green gel into the wound. Shiva grimaced, and locked her eyes with Aries. He held her in his gaze, his eyes shimmering with concern and a protective streak that made her heart tremble. Finally she said, "Just one more thing." Serafina stooped and opened the second suitcase, withdrawing what looked like a large metal disc. She pressed a few buttons on it's side and it chirped merrily, and whirred into the air, hovering on antigravity micro drives. "This is a bio-ethylic laser. Used to accelerate the healing process. A wound like that would usually take a month or two to heal, with this the time is shortened to two weeks , and there is no visible scar." The device hovered over Shiva's body and a beam of golden light shot out from the underside and began to sweep the length of Shiva's body.

As Aries watched in amazement, the blood which had stained Shiva's body began to disappear with each sweep of the beam. After about a minute or so of this, Serafina held out her hand and the device chimed merrily and then zipped over to her hand and dropped within her grasp. She pulled one of the field emitters from it's position, and it's button automatically popped back up and the field disengaged. Serafina asked Shiva, "How do you feel?" Shiva said, groggily, "The pain is still there…but it's lessened somewhat." Serafina smiled gently, "You'll be up and about in no time. I'd guess that you three would like to be alone? "Shiva suddenly said, "If you don't mind I'd like to stay with Aries tonight…." Her voice trailed off and Sago nodded after a moment. "Serafina…if it's alright with you I'd like to speak with you some more. We have much to learn from each other." Serafina nodded, and grabbed the laptop from out on the balcony, opening her bedroom door and stepping inside. Sago flew in after her and the door closed. Shiva carefully raised herself to a sitting position. A slight twinge, but nothing that would make her consider stopping. She lifted off and made it easily over to an open closet filled with heavy garments. She bustled in among the clothes, Aries right behind her.

The two roosted, clinging to one of the heavy wire hangars. Shiva's head dropped and she felt the emotions trapped inside her begin to gush out.

"Please…" she sobbed, "Hold me…I can't go through this alone."

Aries wrapped his wings around her tightly, holding her still. He turned her to look at him, searching her face. "It was…strange. When I was attacking him…I felt so angry…." She turned to look at Aires. "What if I did something like that when I was around you? I might…hurt you." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. _She's in shock_. Aries realized. _"I couldn't stop myself. " _she whispered, her eyes filled with self loathing.

"_And deep down…some part of me enjoyed it…the action of killing him…" _

She looked away from him, ears pressed flat against her skull. He gently turned her face to look at his. Her eyes fell, Shiva could not bring herself to make eye contact with Aires.

"Look at me." He said gently.

"Please, Shiva." Her eyes slowly turned to meet his and he gently stroked her tear stained face.

"You are stronger than me, in more ways in one. The fact that you held back that anger for all of those years without unloading on someone is a testament to your strength of character. Your anger was not mere rage but the righteous fury that would be felt by anyone who was treated in that manner." Shiva looked at him and sniffed. "I never thought you to be the intellectual type." She gently pressed her nose against his chin, breathing in gently. Aries chuckled, "You're worth studying." "In what way?"

He looked at her and said… "You're…you. I can't explain it…" He trailed off. Shiva gently rubbed her nose against the side of his neck, tracing the line of his jaw. "You'll be there for me right?" "I'll be there for you…If you're there for me." He nuzzled her face gently and she giggled. Then they both simultaneously yawned. "Sleep…we must." Shiva murmured. She lay her head against her chest. " Thanks Aires…for everything." They fell asleep.

"_I didn't know it…but a part of me had become connected with Aries, Whether I knew it or not…I had fallen in love with him." Excerpt from Shiva's Autobiography Pg 227 SONIX File 234.221_


	9. Subversion

_Hello there Oemi. Yes, here it is the long awaited update. I cannot wite much as I am on a time limit (damn those library computers). As my time to write is limited, it will not sound nearly as streamlined as some of my other passeges. And I have begun formulating a plan for another story involving the rebellion (you kno, the one _

Aries awoke suddenly, his heart throbbing in panic. He looked outside and saw with relif that it was still daylight. His wings felt empty and he noticed that Shiva had left him. Dropping from his perch he exited the open closet and found Shiva hanging from a light fixture in the ceiling, breathing heavily. "Shiva…is everything alright?" She turned and looked at him, and her eyes had a wild look. "I'm not going back to sleep….not while I don't know where _he_ is.' "Who?" Aries asked, feeling his stomach beginning to drop.

Shiva turned away from him, staring into the blinding light of day, ignoring the fingers of blinding pain that seared her optic nerves. "You might think me crazy for this…but I think that Damocles is trying to reach me through my dreams." Aries's eyebrows rose… "Shiva…are you sure that you didn't just have a really _vivid_ nightmare?" Suddenly she was upon him, teeth bared, a low growl in her throat. He froze. _" In my dream I kept killing him, over, and over and over again. And very time I did it, when I was finished, I'd look and see your face…not Damocles. Then you'd look up at me and say, "Finish the job, Shiva…Join me in the underworld." _Shiva took a shuddering breath and said, "_I think he's trying to subvert me to his own ends. I had to force myself to wake up, because by the end, I'd begun to take a sort of sadistic pleasure in killing you." _ Her hackles rose as she whispered, "_I don't even know who I am anymore…all I can see is his body, dying over and over…" _ Shiva released Aries from his prone position and got up. "The wound is hurting again Aries…it hurts worse now than it did when I got it. And half of the pain isn't even physical. I can feel it in my spirit." A sudden shiver of pain lanced down her scar and Shiva cried out: "Aries…Something's not right…call Serfaina…NOW!" Aries leapt into the air and flew for the door to Serafina's room. "Serafina, something's wrong with Shiva…she need help _now"_

Serafina popped up out of bed, instantly alert. Quickly she threw on a bathrobe and stood, pulling her laptop from her nightstand. Suddenly a loud klaxon blared from the living room. Her laptop immediately flickered on showing an active schematic of Shiva's body, words scrolling in red across the screen. " WARNING, NERVOUS SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY AT 70 CAPACITY… 37 PROBABILITY OF CARDIAC ARREST IF IMMIDIATE MEDICAL TREATMENT… Serafina didn't need to hear anything else. Quickly she pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt, grabbing her lab access key and hovercraft card. She said to Sago, who by this time was awake, " I've got a full scale medical facility at the lab, we need to get there fast. I'll carry Shiva downstairs to my hovercraft, then you two can either follow me from the air or fly into the car's cabin via the sun roof. I'd advise the sun roof as the car can move way faster than you can fly.' Sago nodded, "Sun roof…got it."

Serafina dashed out of her bedroom, laptop in arm, and picked up Shiva who was shivering, her body having broken out in a cold sweat. Her eyes were closed and Shiva's muttering streamed in through Serafina's Bluetooth headset which she had programmed with the translator matrix- "_Damocles…trying to reverse…subversion protocols initiated…first barrier shattered… Zotzzzz…connected…" _It was all gibberish to Serafina who carefully picked her up and strode toward the lift She called over her shoulder, "Hovercraft is red…or heavy grey if you are colorblind." Aries cried, "_I'm not colorblind!" _

As Serafina entered the lift and felt the tug of gravity as the car began to descend on antigrav generators something that Shiva had said in her shock induced stupor kept rotating around in her head… "Zotz…subversion protocol?" She looked down at the bat as she strode toward the parking garage. _ Something tells me that she didn't get slashed by an ordinary bat…the damage is too severe..._

Back in the subway tunnels Damocles and Diatra were both fast asleep. Insde Damocles's mind Goth chuckled darkly as he continued to broadcast his signal. He had already broken through the first layers of Shiva's mental defenses; the 'spiritwound' he had purposefully inflicted had seen to that, now each time he repeated the dream sequence her protests became minutely weaker and weaker…soon very soon he would have a fix on their position and then the real fun could begin.

Damocles 's mind had been crushed into the darkest corners of his brain's cerebral cortex. As he watched the feed that Goth was sending his daughter anger welled up within him. He battered at the 'walls' of his prison…and was surprised to hear a faint clank register in the stream of spiritual data. The ghost of a plan began to form in his mind.


	10. A Battle of Wills

_I TOLD you I wrote best at home! As soon as I got in the door the ideas came like a flood. I'm waiting for an update Oemi…Preferrably something long. I'm back in DC by the way. _

Serafina's hovercraft spiraled down through the clouds toward the SONIX research facility. Serafina's grandfather had masterminded the project and had poured millions of dollars into the creation of one of the most advanced sound research facilities on the planet. As a nod to his daughter's Green cross affiliation, he had furnished the facility with a fully equipped ICU unit with the most advanced medical technology that money could buy. The facility could handle everything from horses to-coincidentally bats. Serafina's hovercraft landed on a helipad near the facility's entrance. Trees rose up around the vehicle as it neared the ground.

Serafina shut down the machine quickly and pulled the release button on the craft's canopy, which hissed upward. She turned to Aries, who was crouched over Shiva's body protectively. "Any changes?" Aries' face was blank as he said, "She's burning up…" Serafina's stomach lurched as she saw the expression of pain and fear flickering across the face of the young bat. She activated her bracelet's phone function and punched in a code. "VICKI, it's Serafina…I need a full medical kit immediately…" she pressed the speaker against her ear…"Yes, that's right. It's bats this time..." She terminated the connection.

Serafina curled her fingers around Shiva's body and was astonished at the amount of heat pouring off of the small form. _Her immune system is fighting the infection… or at least is trying to. _ Serafina strode toward a side entrance and used her access card to enter. Sago and Aries zipped in behind the human who headed for a turbolift. The carriage descended rapidly for several seconds before coming to rest at the basement' level.

A voice filtered through the wall speakers. "These are the patients, then?" Serafina nodded, "My experiment went well…but certain consequences were unforeseen." She walked toward a rectangular bed surrounded by another sterilizer field, which bathed the dark room in it's warm green glow. Serafina carefully deposited Shiva's shivering form onto the white cloth and then retreated to a holographic control panel, manipulating the beams of light with deft movements. The AI suddenly piped up, "Ah, I see that you finally perfected the translator algorithim…I'll update my servers now…" Suddenly Serafina gasped in surprise.

"This isn't normal. VICKI, please verify correct readings and re scan." "What's not normal?" Serafina stared at the readouts and said, "Apparently Shiva's wound has no infection. Her body is refusing to heal the slash." "What about the fever and her…odd behavior?" Serafina sighed. "Perhaps it's neurological… inflammation of the brain…tumors… hell, I'm not sure. I'll start running the tests."

Suddenly Aries heard a cry fly upward from Shiva and almost on reflex he dashed to her side ignoring the strange itching sensation as he squeezed under the sterilizer field. She was speaking rapidly, her words tumbling out over one another: "_ Aries…help…me please..." _ Her eyes were locked with his and he felt his heart clench. "Damocles…" he roared, "I'll make you pay for this!" Suddenly she grasped his face and seared him with her gaze. "_It's not Damocles…It's Goth… Controlling him." _Aires felt as though he'd just gotten hit with a snowdrift. Cold fear shivered through his mind. _Goth? But he was dead…_ Shiva's voice cut through his consciousness like a sonic knife. "_Diatra as well…Lysandra controls her… they're just pawns…" _ Suddenly her voice grew to a roar which filled the room with it's power. "_I need your help…come… my 'Ni'Glash'" _ Shiva's jaws flew open and battered Aries body with waves of sound. He went limp, his wing falling over her chest.

Serafina's hands flew over the controls. "They're both unconscious now." VICKI said, "Their Alpha patterns just synched…now their heart rates…even nuero-kinetics. I've never seen this before." Serafina said, "Did you record Shiva's speech?" "Yes." Serafina looked at Sago. "What does 'Ni'Glash' mean?" Sago thought for a moment. "It is a word found in the language of the Seers…the ones who long ago could use the echo chambers along with special herbs to influence the minds of others…it means My Protector."

"The bond between the two…I could see it in their eyes." Sago sighed and looked at the pair. "We must keep watch over them…as my mind tells me that something very big is coming…possibly to destroy us." Serafina sat down at a workstation and rubbed her eyes. "I've got to see if there is some sort of natural cause for this…psychosis she's going through. Please keep an eye on them."

Sago flew over to the pair and began to pray…

_Serafina's Log: I've never seen a medical case like this in all of my years of training. A bat who suddenly has a reaction akin to septic shock, but is not 'sick'… I'm preparing the facilities MRI and CAT scanners now. What I saw back there…what I heard…I'm beginning to suspect that this infection is one that cannot be cured with bio-ethelyic lasers and surgical tools. This is an infection on an almost spiritual level… I'm looking at those two and I've gotten the feeling that the pair are now connected in a way that I can only begin to understand. _


End file.
